The present invention relates generally to round balers utilized for making a cylindrical bale of crop material and, more particularly, to a net dispensing device for selectively introducing netting material into the round baler's bale forming mechanism so that the finished bale can be wrapped with an outer layer of netting.
Net dispensing mechanisms for use in conjunction with round balers to wrap the exterior of a finished round bale with a layer of netting material is a relatively recent feature being incorporated into round balers. One such net dispensing device can be found on the Claas Model Rollant 44 round baler which utilizes a tray to physically hold a roll of netting material, the netting material being fed between a driven resilient feed roller and a rigid pinch roller by which means the netting can be fed into the bale chamber of the round baler for wrapping around a completed round bale therewithin. A more detailed description of this net dispensing device can be found with reference to the detailed description of FIG. 9 (prior art) below.
It has been found that the combination of a driven feed roller and one pinch roller does not provide satisfactory feeding of the netting material into the bale forming mechanism. The utilization of more than one pinch roller raises additional problems of positional adjustment between the pinch rollers and the driven feed roller. When the netting material is to be loaded into the net dispensing mechanism, it is necessary to disengage the pinch roller from the feed roller so that the netting material can be threaded therebetween. A reengagement of the pinch roller with the feed roller to pinch the netting material therebetween is necessary for a proper feeding of the netting material into the bale forming mechanism. This problem of reengagement of the pinch roller with the feed roller is more significant with a feed mechanism utilizing more than one pinch roller because all pinch rollers need to be in engagement with the feed roller to properly feed the netting material therebetween.